At a Congressional hearing held last
week, IRS Commissioner John Koskinen pledged that the tax-exempt
status of religious colleges and universities that oppose marriage
equality will not be affected by the Supreme Court's ruling striking
down gay marriage bans in all 50 states.

Senator Mike Lee, a Republican from
Utah and an outspoken opponent of LGBT rights, asked Koskinen whether
the IRS would “not, in the absence of a directive by Congress or by
the courts,” take actions to strip religious schools of their tax
exempt status.

“I can make that commitment,”
Koskinen
answered, adding that “we see no basis for changing our
examination criteria as a result of this Supreme Court case.”

“If we ever did that, we would issue
it for public comment. There would be no surprises. The public
would have plenty of notice and plenty of opportunity to comment, and
that's not going to happen in the next two and a half years.”

In a written statement issued after the
hearing, Lee, who has introduced legislation that would prohibit the
IRS from taking such actions, said that despite the commissioner's
comments his bill was still needed.

“While I greatly appreciate
Commissioner Koskinen's word that he will not target religious
institutions for their religious beliefs, it worries me, and it
should worry every American, that the IRS does not absolutely disavow
the power to target religious institutions based on their religious
beliefs, even if the current IRS commissioner has committed not to
use that power for the time being,” he said.